 #TopStory 🔝 Rappi, Mercado Pago among 60 fintechs waiting for license in MexicoMexico’s regulator is expected to speed up authorizations for fintech operating licenses this year, with some 60 new companies seen having a good chance of receiving a permit, fueling expectations for faster growth in the sector. Since Mexico’s fintech law was passed in 2018, about 100 startups have asked the National Banking and Securities Commission (CNBV) for permission to operate “It’s completely viable […] Even so, the challenge goes beyond obtaining authorization—the challenge is to maintain it,” Rebeca Álvarez, a fintech specialist and managing partner at law firm Loxical, told iupana. Among the firms waiting for a license are Rappi and Mercado Pago, which are allowed to operate under the fintech law but don’t yet have firm permits, she said. Requests from a further 40 businesses have been turned down by the regulator but the firms are able reapply, she added. Compliance with the law has been—and will probably “It’s been four years since the fintech law was enacted: the models have changed. The secondary provisions of this law must be modified appropriately. In addition, we should consider creating regulations for sandbox models and virtual assets,” Álvarez said. #Payments 💰iPhones will become sales terminalsApple plans to turn its smartphones into payment terminals, in the latest push by big tech to go deeper into the financial system’s territory. Using near field communications (NFC) technology, iPhones will soon accept electronic and card payments with simply a tap. The service known as “Tap to Pay” will be launched later this year in the U.S. Apple told iupana that it has no information about the arrival of this service in Latin America. #Insurtech 🔐AVLA enters the insurtech businessInsurance company AVLA launched Iglu, a platform for selling digital property insurance to companies and individuals. The service made its debut in Peru and is expected to expand to the other markets where the company has a presence: Mexico, Brazil and Chile. Iglu allows customers to sign up digitally with the use of artificial intelligence and big data.  iupana event How will AI drive financial innovation in LatAm this decade?Discover the uses of AI for growth, development and innovation in your business in this #Investments 💵Ebanx delays its IPOEbanx, the Brazilian payments unicorn, has postponed plans for an initial public offering (IPO). Its decision follows a drop of more than 30% in the market value of fintechs such as Nubank on the U.S. stock market. Ebanx filed for an IPO in October 2021. Square invests in Movii de ColombiaSquare, the fintech set up by Twitter founder Jack Dorsey, invested about US$17 million in Movii, in a first stage of the Colombian payments startup’s series C round. Movii has almost 2 million users and is led by Hernando Rubio, who said that the money will be invested in promoting financial inclusion. Flexio raises US$3m in seed roundFlexio, a Mexican B2B payments and collection fintech, raised $3 million in a seed round led by Costanoa Ventures and Soma Capital. The funds will be used in product improvement and to scale the team and sales. #Deals 🤝Banco Pichincha hires Surecomp for Trade FinanceEcuadorian bank Pichincha partnered with Surecomp, a technology company focused on foreign trade, for its front and back-office operations. #People 🙋🙋♂️From Google to EBANX: Bellizia named president of global paymentsPaula Bellizia, Google’s former vice president of marketing for Latin America, is the new president of global payments at EBANX. She’ll oversee sales, marketing, and operations in the Americas, Europe and Asia. And, banks vs fintechs in Argentina (again!?) 🥊Banks and fintechs are at it again in Argentina. According to a report from the Association of Argentine Banks (Adeba), fintechs have average annual interest rates of 93%, compared with the 53% charged by banks. Last August, the two sectors voiced their differences over the levying of a tax on electronic wallets, and some went as far as declaring there was “all out war” between them. #iupanaExclusive 🔥Uber and Didi test alternative loans for the gig economyUber and Didi are using alternative data to grant loans to gig economy workers and users. By analyzing driving records or app usage data, fintechs such as Ábaco, Lana, and uils are also lending to a segment of the population that has traditionally had limited access to banking.
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